When built St. Michael's was the only church between St. James, Toxteth and St. Michael, Garston. A church had been 'greatly wanted for several years past, many of the resident Families in and about Toxteth Park being unable to attend Public Worship owing to their
great distance from any Church.'
Its builder was John
Cragg who contracted for the land at what was to become St
Michaels Hamlet in February 1813. John Cragg presented the plot of land and undertook to erect a church 'upon a
Gothic design'. In 1814, even before his first joint venture with
Thomas Rickmann (St George's in Everton) was finished, work began on their second venture together, which
was St Michaels church in Toxteth.
The undertaking was confirmed by an act of parliament,
'An Act for Establishing a Church or Chapel in Toxteth
Park in the Parish of Walton- -on-the-Hill 1815' describing the church as 'a handsome Gothic Building'.
The
church was built in the Gothic style, beloved of Rickman and used
many
of the same Iron castings and mouldings as St George's. The mouldings
below the clerestorey windows are replicated as fireplaces (such
as behind the door giving access to the stairs leading up to what
was formerly the gallery). This no doubt kept the cost down, as
the church was constructed at Cragg's own expense and the total
cost was £7,865.(1). The ornamental tracery
of the ceiling although resembling plasterwork is yet another example
of the ironwork which extends throughout the church and of course
into the fabric of the original houses in St Michaels Hamlet.
It was the second of Liverpool's 'cast iron
churches'. Its builder, John Cragg, was principal partner in the Mersey
Iron Foundry in Tithebarn Street and its architect, Thomas Rickman, was
committed to a revival of Gothic design. Cast iron was used where ever
possible in the construction of the church, from its frame to intricate
Gothic mouldings and ornamental work, both internal and external. This
extends not only to the window frames and door jambs but also to
the pinnacles on the tower and the roof. The walls are of brick
but the original intention was that these be clad with slate, as
was also used for the roof, inner ceiling and interior panelling.
The main difference between St George's and St.
Michael's is that St. George's is stone-clad and thus from the outside
it looks more conventional. St. Michael's employs extensive iron
work on the outside as well as the interior.
St. Michael's was consecrated on 21st June 1815, its first service
being a thanksgiving for the defeat of Napoleon and the victory at the Battle of Waterloo. The Church was a Chapel of Ease to the parish of Walton but St. Michael's became a parish in its own right in 1898, the parish boundaries being Dingle Lane, Tramway Road, Aigburth Road and the river Mersey.
By
1875
the church had been neglected and was in a poor state and this year
saw the start of both restoration and significant alterations. A
new floor was laid and the old box pews were replaced by the present
ones. Both heating and gas lighting was installed. Several stained
glass windows were presented and a marble font. There had formerly
been no central aisle and this was now put in place and the old
high pulpit and lectern, replaced
By 1900
this part of Toxteth had expanded a great deal, following the final
incorporation by Liverpool in 1895, of the areas beyond Dingle.
The north side of the church was now expanded. The design of the
church made this easy although you can see today where the arches
were separated and there is a difference in mouldings visible on
the ceiling. In 1902 the organ was removed from the gallery at the
western end and its replacement was put in the chancel. Soon after
this electric lighting replaced the gas lighting. In 1920 a chiming
clock, memorial window and tablets were dedicated in memory of the
parishioners who died in WW1. The parish was amalgamated with that
of St. Andrew in 1978 and three years later a major restoration
began
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